Business Page – August 11th,
2002

Business, Economics, Politics and Development

Human Development Report
2002

Introduction

Readers
will forgive the cumbersome title designed to pass the scrutiny of the
editor who often finds it necessary with considerable justification to issue
reminders that this Page is about business even though I have tried pointing
out that there is so little business to write about these days. The Human
Development Report 2002 launched by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) on July 24, 2002 confirms the link between economics, politics and
human development. As the Foreword notes ‘this HDR is first and foremost
about the idea that politics is as important to successful development as
economics.Sustained poverty
reduction requires equitable growth - but it also requires that poor people
have political power.And the
best way to achieve that in a manner consistent with human development
objectives is by building strong and deep forms of democratic governance all
levels of society”

This
Report is truly relevant to the current circumstances of Guyana. Indeed its
theme: Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented World can so easily apply to the
post-1992 Guyana. It is therefore a pity that the press has shown such
little interest in the Report although the fault may lie not only with the
media but with the UNDP. This Report should be compulsory reading for all
those with an interest in politics and development at all levels and it
would have been useful for the UNDP to organise
a few workshops around the country to consider its findings which though
derived from countries around the world have particular resonance for
Guyana. For the Government, this is an excellent blueprint as it tries to
understand the turmoil in the country, but it is equally relevant to the
opposition parties and civil society as they seek ways to become involved in
creating good governance in the country.

Democratisation

The
Report notes that in the last two decades, some “81 countries took
significant steps towards democracy, and today 140 of the world’s nearly
200 countries hold multi-party elections - more than ever before.But the euphoria of the cold war’s end has given way to the somber realities of the 21st century politics”. Elections, despite
their inherent virtues are not a panacea for dealing with massive poverty,
societal tensions and economic difficulties. Indeed, some countries such as
Pakistan and Zimbabwe have seen reversals in the democratic journey largely
because of the absence of strong institutions to sustain democracy or the
absence of a democratic culture. More significantly, even in those countries
with strong democratic institutions and traditions citizens still feel
powerless to influence national policies. The Report refers to a 1999 Gallup
International’s Millennium Survey of 50,000 persons in sixty countries in
which less than one third of the respondents considered that their country
was governed by the will of the people and an even smaller proportion –
one in ten – said that their government responded to the people’s will.

The
Report notes that while economically, politically and technologically the
world was never freer, it has also never been more unjust. The Report notes
that the establishment of majority rule through the ballot-box has often
been at the expense of minority rights. As a result and particularly in
those countries not possessed of a democratic culture, those who lose
elections are either persecuted by the winners or refuse to accept
legitimate electoral outcomes. It notes with telling simplicity that
“democracies require not just legitimate governments but legitimate
oppositions too”.

In
what could perhaps reflect the “Buxton” phenomenon, the Report notes
that in a number of those countries where democratic elections have failed
to bring home a greater sense of participation and economic dividends, there
is a tendency for the population especially the young people to feel
“increasingly alienated and angry”. In the most extreme cases radical or
fundamentalist groups are embracing violent solutions to their grievances,
as tragically illustrated by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and
their global repercussions.

Effective Governance

The
main message of the Report is “that effective governance is central to
human development, and lasting solutions need to go beyond such narrow
issues and be firmly grounded in democratic politics in the broadest sense.In other words, not democracy as practiced by any particular country
or group of countries - but rather a set of principles and core values that
allow poor people to gain power through participation while protecting them
from arbitrary, unaccountable actions in their lives by governments,
multi-national corporations and other forces”

The
Report notes that effective governance can only be achieved if societies
ensure “that institutions and power are structured and distributed in a
way that gives real voice and space to poor people and create mechanisms
through which the powerful - whether political leaders, corporations or
other influential actors - can be held accountable for their actions”.

Noting
that advancing human development requires governance that is democratic in
both form and substance, the Report advances the view that democratic
governance is not only valuable in its own right, but identifies three
reasons why it can also advance human development. First, enjoying political
freedom and participating in the decisions that shape one’s life are
fundamental human rights: they are part of human development in their own
right. Democracy is the only political regime that guarantees political and
civil freedoms and the right to participate - making democratic rule a good
in itself.

Second,
democracy helps protect people from economic and political catastrophes such
as famines and descents into chaos.This
is no small achievement.Indeed,
it can mean the difference between life and death.Noble Prize-winner Amartya Sen has shown how elections and a free
press give politicians in democracies much stronger incentives to avert
famines.

Third,
democratic governance can trigger a virtuous cycle of development - as
political freedom empowers people to press for policies that expand social
and economic opportunities, and as open debates help communities shape their
priorities.From Indonesia to
Mexico to Poland, moves towards democratisation and political opening have
helped produce this kind of virtuous cycle, with a free press and civil
society activism giving people new ways to participate in policy decisions
and debates. The report cites two examples of participation leading to human
development. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, citizen participation in preparing
municipal budgets has helped to re-allocate spending to critical human
development priorities. As a result, during the first seven years of this
initiative, the percentage of the population with access to sanitation
almost doubled while households with access to water services increased from
80% to 98%. And in South Africa, gender-sensitive budgeting which examines
the implications for gender equity of national and local budgets and which
is now pursued in about forty countries, has led to the inclusion of gender
sensitive analysis in policy papers and to more effective targeting of
public spending.

No
Automatic Link or Imported Formula

The
Report posits that the links between democracy and human development are not
automatic. Indeed it could have added that neither is the link between
electoral democracy and good governance. When a smallelite
dominates economic and political decisions, the link between democracy and
equity can be broken.

The
Report is clear that democracy that empowers people must be built - it
cannot be imported. The specific form chosen by the nation must have regard
to its history and circumstances. Having said that however, there are some
critical elements to all such systems or what the Report refers to as the
“key institutions of democratic governance” of which the following are
identified in the Report:

§A
system of representation, with well-functioning political parties and
interest associations.

§An
electoral system that guarantees free and fair elections as well as
universal suffrage.

§A
system of checks and balances based on the separation of powers, with
independent judicial and legislative branches.

§A
vibrant civil society, able to monitor government and private business and
provide alternative forms of political participation.

§A
free, independent media.

§Effective
civilian control over the military and other security forces.

The
Report ranks some 173 countries in three groups High, in which there are
five Caricom states (Barbados, Bahamas, St.Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad &
Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda. Medium in which Guyana is placed 103 below
Belize, Dominica, St. Lucia, Suriname, Grenada, Jamaica and St. Vincent and
Low Development among which Haiti is the only Caricom country.

Next
week, we will look at some of the specific measures and where Guyana places
and how it has moved over the past year.